White-headed Woodpecker – Oregon Conservation Strategy

Overview

Species Common Name White-headed Woodpecker
Species Scientific Name Picoides albolarvatus
Federal Listing Status Species of Concern
State Listing Status Sensitive

Ecoregions

Blue Mountains

Located in NE Oregon, the Blue Mountains ecoregion is the largest ecoregion in the state. It provides a diverse complex of mountain ranges, valleys, and plateaus that extend beyond Oregon into the states of Idaho and Washington.

East Cascades

The East Cascade ecoregion extends from the Cascade Mountains’ summit east to the warmer, drier high desert and down the length of the state. This ecoregion varies dramatically from its cool, moist border with the West Cascades ecoregion to its dry eastern border, where it meets sagebrush desert landscapes.

Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains ecoregion covers much of southwestern Oregon, including the Umpqua Mountains, Siskiyou Mountains, and interior valleys and foothills between these and the Cascade Range. The Rogue watershed has the largest population of any coastal watershed in Oregon (Jackson County, Josephine County, and a portion of Curry County). Several popular and scenic rivers run …

Special needs

White-headed Woodpeckers are found in large tracts of open ponderosa pine woodlands. They require mature trees for foraging and snags for nesting.

Limiting factors

White-headed Woodpeckers have experienced declines and local extirpations. Loss of mature ponderosa pine trees and snags, habitat degradation from encroaching trees and shrubs, and lack of recruitment of young ponderosa pine into larger size classes have adversely affected this species. Egg predation in areas of high predator (most likely chipmunks and golden-mantled ground squirrels, Callospermophilus lateralis) densities is associated with shrubs and downed wood.

Data gaps

Assess distribution. Evaluate impacts of forest management practices on woodpeckers and habitat suitability of managed forests. Quantify predation rates by individual predator species, and describe habitat relationships of rodent egg predators.

Conservation actions

Retain existing (or manage to create) large tracts of open, mature woodland. Retain snags and high cut stumps. Eliminate or restrict fuelwood cutting of stumps and snags in suitable habitat.

Key reference or plan

A Conservation Assessment for the White-headed Woodpecker (Picoides albolarvatus)